


Night Shift

by orphan_account



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Gen, cops being bros, john and dorian are also bffs, john respects the hell out of valerie, maldonado is awesome and takes no shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-04 05:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1076817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John has to work late for a case, and what starts off as a boring night actually turns out pretty well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Shift

**Author's Note:**

> first Almost Human fic, hell yes. Also, how excited are you guys for tonight's episode? You've all seen the promos. We're all gonna die.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, and kudos/comments are rewarded w/ my everlasting love as always.

Paperwork is hell. Sure, none of John's is actually on paper, but he's got a tablet loaded full of important case files lit up on his desk, and it's already midnight. The little blue reminder at the top of the page says '1 of 189'. John sighs.

His eyes are straining, and a headache is already starting to pound behind his eyes. Luckily, he gets a welcome distraction when the precinct doors clatter open, revealing a dirt-streaked Valerie, and an equally muddy MX at her side. She grins as the office starts to applaud her. Even Paul looks impressed. "You got 'em?" he asks. Valerie nods, slightly out of breath. "I got the first two, Max got the third, and the last guy slipped in the mud." The growing crowd around her laughs. 

The MX standing stiffly by Valerie must be her partner, Max. John snorts at the name-it's pretty much the default name for MXs, like naming your dog spot. John keeps seeing the same commercial for a soap opera, some sort of dramatic police show, starring an MX named Max who somehow falls in love with his human partner. He rolls his eyes every time he sees it. 

It's not a very original name, but it's not like Max would care, anyway. She-it? looks like a woman, with short brown hair and golden skin. Her face is completely blank, and John knows that if given an order, she would kill him without a thought. The thought's a little unsettling, but mostly John's just glad that the synthetic...that the MX is on his side. 

Everyone looks up as the door to Maldonado's office opens, and the Captain makes her way down the stairs, smiling at Valerie. The case must really have gone well, then, even if Valerie's dripping all over the carpet. 

"Good job, Stahl," Maldonado says, clapping a hand on Valerie's shoulder. She pulls her hand back and winces slightly; now she's got mud on her too. "I knew you and 87-41 were a good match," she says. Valerie smiles proudly. "Yeah, we really showed them." Max just blinks and looks at her. The crowd laughs again. 

Once the crowd dissipates, Valerie and Maldonado make their way over to John's desk. "Still on the night shift?" Maldonado asks, eyes flashing with amusement. "Yeah," John grumbles, running a hand through his hair. "Still on the witness reports." 

"You look half-dead, Kennex. Listen, since I know there's no way you'll do anything else, you can stay here and finish this up..." John opens his mouth, but closes it when Maldonado gives him a look. "But you have tomorrow off. I know you too well, Kennex. You need to get some sleep, because I can't have you crashing on the job." 

John nods, slightly sheepishly. "Thanks, Captain." Maldonado shoots him a small smile, then heads back up the stairs to her office. "And Stahl, get yourself cleaned up."

Valerie turns to John. "Is it really that bad?"

"Nah," he lies. "You've just got a little-" he makes a sweeping motion around his entire face. Valerie rolls her eyes, but chuckles as she walks away, towards the bathrooms. 

"Max is incredible," Valerie says, shaking her head. Her face is clean and mostly dry now, but her clothes are still streaked with grayish mud. John should probably be working right now, but Valerie's sitting on the edge of his desk and he really doesn't care. "She actually broke a lead pipe in half and hit one of the guys with it." John winces. "Yeah, well your MX ain't got nothing on mine," Paul says from his desk. Valerie gives him an exasperated look. "This isn't a competition."

"No, but 56-97 can defuse a pipe bomb in under a minute. I'd like to see your hunk of metal do that," Paul says, smirking. John groans internally as the other detectives start to join in the conversation about whose partner is best. He really shouldn't have taken the night shift. Ever since the coffee machine downstairs broke, the whole office has been a little...edgy. Caffeine is a precious thing to cops. 

John turns away as Paul declares loudly, "Look, 32-06 is just a glorified toaster, okay?", only to find a cup of steaming coffee on his desk. He blinks, then looks up. "Hello," Dorian says, smiling much too brightly for how late it is. "Did you get this from Kenny's?" John asks, bewildered. "They're not even open right now." 

"Well, when I explained that I had a friend in dire need of caffeine, they let me in," Dorian says. John doesn't even correct him for saying "friend", because he's pretty sure it's become unavoidable right now. If the way Dorian is grinning down at him is any indication. John takes a sip of the coffee, groaning at the warmth. 

"Thanks," he says, and suddenly feels much lighter. 

The detectives have stopped arguing, and are now staring at the cup in John's hand, their bloodshot eyes slightly manic at the sight of actual coffee. Paul looks overtly jealous. "Sorry, were you saying something?" John asks them innocently, taking another sip. It's perfect.


End file.
